There is nothing like a game-changing home run during the MLB postseason. It is a very brief moment in time that all of a sudden becomes a memory that lasts forever.
Petey Halpin had such a moment for the Cleveland Guardians in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. With Cleveland down by a run in the fifth inning, Halpin launched a two-run blast that gave the Guardians a 3-2 lead and sent the Progressive Field crowd into a frenzy.
It was punctuated by an epic bat flip from Halpin, and the Guardians’ bullpen was able to protect it from there. Now, entering Game 4 on Friday, Cleveland leads the best-of-7 series 2-1 and can move one win from the World Series with another victory.
Analyst Ken Carman is putting Halpin’s homer among Cleveland’s all-time greats, with some added impact because of the reaction to it.
“Petey Halpin hit one of the biggest home runs in Guardians history, and in home team history. And the bat flip made it even better. The reaction of everybody made it even better. The place went absolutely nuts,” Carman said.
“Petey Halpin hit one of the biggest home runs in Guardians history.”
➡️ @KenCarman on Halpin’s unforgettable ALCS Game 3 homer — and the bat flip and reactions that made the moment even better.#Guardians pic.twitter.com/WU4YhGt50l
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) October 16, 2026
As a consistent playoff team, Cleveland has hit many memorable home runs over the past three decades. In recent memory, Rajai Davis’ game-tying home run in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series is at the top. Unfortunately, the Guardians wound up losing that game in 10 innings.
In Game 3 of the 2024 ALCS, Jhonkensy Noel hit a two-out, two-run, game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth against the New York Yankees. Cleveland went on to an extra-inning victory that was its only win of the series.
Going back to the powerhouse teams of the 1990s, Sandy Alomar Jr. hit a game-winning home run against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera in Game 4 of the 1997 ALDS to keep that series going. Cleveland won it in Game 5 before defeating the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS. It lost that World Series to the Florida Marlins in Game 7.
In Game 5 of the 1995 ALCS, Jim Thome hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth against the Seattle Mariners. Cleveland won that series in Game 6 and advanced to its first World Series in 41 years, but it lost to the Atlanta Braves.
There is plenty of work left to be done, but if Halpin’s home run leads the Guardians to their first World Series title since 1948, it could wind up being the most memorable of all.
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